Verse of The Week (02/19/16)

"I have no greater joy than this, to hear
of my children walking in the truth." 
(3 John 4) 

Heart Cry: Keep Me True (3 Jn. 3-4) (Part 4)

We must reciprocate God's heart cry with our own.  Our heart cry is, or at least it should be, “Lord, keep me true.”

In the early eighties, there was a worship chorus that went like this:

“Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true.
Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true.
There's a race that I must run.
There are victories to be won.
Every hour, give me power to be true.”

The writer of that chorus understood that staying true (walking in truth) wasn't always easy.  He also understood that so much is at stake when someone doesn't remain true to Jesus. 

Bring your heart cry to Jesus.  Tell Him: “Keep me true, Lord Jesus. Help me to know the truth, love the truth and live the truth. Just as the people in 3 John brought Pastor John joy because of their testimony that they walked in the truth, my desire is that I might bring You joy, Jesus, as Your Holy Spirit leads me into the truth and enables me to live it.'

Heart Cry: Keep Me True (3 Jn. 3-4) (Part 3)

Second, let's deal with the word “walking.”  “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Col. 2:6).  The word “walking” suggests three things.

• It suggests beginning.  There was a time when you were not walking in the truth.  Something happened that compelled you to start walking.  That something is called repentance.
• It suggests process.  Once you took the first step, you took the second step, and then the third step, and so on.  Each successive step might not have been as easy as the previous, but you kept putting one foot in front of the other.  Process is determined by repetition, not distance.
• It suggests progress.  You don't want to keep putting one foot in front of the other, only to end up getting nowhere.  It is okay if progress is slow, so long as you are making progress.  If you aren't making progress, check the process.  If the process is altered, then progress is stalled.  In baseball a pitching coach talks to his pitchers about mechanics. If a pitcher's mechanics (process) are wrong, he won't consistently throw strikes (progress, results).

Pastor John didn't write that he was glad those in the congregation started in the truth.  He wrote that he was glad they were continuing in the truth, that they had adopted truth as their lifestyle.  The congregants lived it, and their testimony was obvious enough to Pastor John's helpers that they had to tell him.  These weren't just good people or moral people; they were truth- saturated people.  What they believed about Jesus affected every area of their lives.

We can't talk about walking (living) in the truth without mentioning certain things.

• Those who walk in the truth will develop the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
• Those who walk in the truth will follow through on their word (Mt. 5:37).
• Those who walk in the truth will not avoid reality by pretending (Prov. 13:7).
• Those who walk in the truth will not pursue crooked business deals (Prov. 20:14).
• Those who walk in the truth will not seethe on the inside while they smile on the outside (Eph. 4:25)

Heart Cry: Keep Me True (3 Jn. 3-4) (Part 2)

First, let's deal with the word “truth.”  Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (Jn. 18:38).   I don't think Pilate was trying to be philosophical – sarcastic, maybe, but not philosophical.  It seems to me that he didn't know what truth was, or didn't believe such a thing was attainable, so he asked.

Pilate is similar to many people today.  They have been taught to believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth.  They have been taught that truth, whatever it might be, is for each person to define. When this happens, you end up with a situation similar to Judges 21:25: “ . . . every man did what was right in his own eyes.”  Why had truth become so relative, so individualized, so neutered?  “In those days there was no king . . .”

You can say you live in a Christian nation all you want.  That isn't the issue. The issue is whether you will submit to the King. His name is Jesus.  It appears we don't have a King (capital 'K' - Jesus) in the United States.  We have 380 million of them!

Truth is your final authority to which you appeal when making decisions or declaring statements.  It is a system of belief that invades, infects and directs your thoughts, intentions, desires, behaviors, pursuits, actions, conclusions and speech.  It is a filter that determines what you will and won't consider, allow or investigate.

When someone says, “There is no such thing as truth,” he or she is not speaking truthfully.  Certainly, he or she has some rationale for choosing to live the way he or she does, even if that rationale is selfishness or rebellion.  That rationale usually begins with the word “I.”

• I feel that . . .

• I think that . . .

• I believe that . . .

The problem is that the King has written His own truth and He expects all people to follow it.  Once His truth is altered, minimized, trivialized or marginalized, it displeases Him, and the failure to adhere to His standard won't produce His desired results for individuals, families, businesses or nations.  Once His truth is customized, editorialized or criticized, the King takes notice.  The King of the Universe takes offence at the profaning of His high standard!

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life . . .” (Jn. 14:6).  Notice the three-letter word “the.”  It doesn't say “a.” That's the indefinite modifier.  No, it says “the.” That's the definite modifier.  The definite modifier is absolute and exclusive.  When Jesus said, “I am . . . the truth . . . “, He said that there could be no other source.  That doesn't mean people listen to Him. That doesn't mean people agree with Him.

When it comes down to it, you must decide who is right: Jesus or you? Jesus or man? Jesus or society? Jesus or the philosophers? Jesus or postmodernism?  If you believe a source other than Jesus is right, then you are calling Jesus a liar. I'd be careful, if I were you!

Heart Cry: Keep Me True (3 Jn. 3-4) (Part 1)

Yesterday morning, we began a new series called “Heart Cry.”  The idea of crying might not be popular, but the idea of heart tied in with Valentine's Day.

When you think of Valentine's Day, what comes to mind? Responses from the congregation included

love, romance, flowers, candy, cards, and expense.  Every man knows that, on Valentine's Day, you bring your wallet.  He is also wise enough to know this is money well invested!

Heart is an essential thing at Valentine's Day.  Agreed?  It helps if you have a heart.  It helps if you show it.  Aren't you glad for God's Valentine, Jesus Christ?  The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus were Hallmark moments: God showed his heart, his love, for sinners (Rom. 5:8).  He cared enough to send the very best.

We distributed boxes of heart candy and then asked, "Do you remember these from when you were a child?"  Congregants opened the boxes and put a few hearts in their hands.  I asked what the hearts said and allowed for responses.  (Some candy maker had a very long day at the office, and you can tell he or she was quickly losing creativity – and maybe sanity!)

Those were sayings written on candy hearts. I wonder what's written on God's heart?  Did anyone get a heart that said, “Be true”? Truth – that's one of the things on God's heart.

Our main Bible verses were Third John, verses three and four.

God's heart is that you would want what He wants for you.  What does God want for you?  God wants for you to walk in truth – to know the truth and live it.  If John, as a pastor, was so moved to hear that people in the church walked in the truth, how much more is God Himself moved when He sees this!  The key phrase in these verses is “walking in the truth.”